Reading Between Their Lines
by JustMyLuckiness
Summary: With Rumple banished across the town line and Ruby not caught up in the second Curse, a lonely Belle decides to take her life into her own hands for once. Emma, shunned by her magic-fearing parents and an angry Mayor for her mistake in the past, finds herself similarly alone. Two lonely ships passing in the night find comfort in an understanding companion. Beautiful Swan slow burn.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is something of a departure for me. I usually read and write Swan Queen, but when I was re-watching Season 4, it struck me how similar the situation Belle and Emma found themselves in at the midpoint - when Belle kicked Rumpel out of Storybrooke and Emma was still convinced Regina hated her and her parents feared her. With a bit of a twist, they could have had so much in common. There are nods in this story to my Swan Queen trilogy The Hero's Way, but this is a new story that should be read on its own.  
**

 **Rest assured that I am still working on The Hero's Way Back. This plot bunny grabbed hold of me last night and refused to let go until it was down on paper, and once I started, I couldn't stop. 3500 words written in a matter of hours. I plan to continue the Hero's Way - that won't be left unfinished, but this idea is really interesting to me and depending on your feedback, I will keep this going, too.**

 **No beta sullied themselves with my pitiful scribbles; all mistakes are mine. I claim no ownership of the show, characters, settings, or plots. Any resemblance to any real people, places, or events is entirely coincidental.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Reading Between Their Lines Chapter 1

* * *

It started, as these things so often do, with a drink.

It ended with two words.

But The Savior would argue until her dying breath that it was the story in between the catalyst and the happy ending that was the most interesting.

The Librarian, being an expert on stories in general, generally agreed.

It was _their_ story, after all.

* * *

The actual beginning of these events happened before the drink.

Rumpel was gone, for good. Belle found the dagger that he'd hidden from her, lied about, loved more than her. Fury rose hot and wild in her, for once daring to stand up to the cowardly Dark One. She threw him out. Banished across the town line, where he could be no danger to anyone she cared about, least of all to herself.

The very next day she'd marched into the Mayor's office, ignoring the squeak of protest from her secretary. Throwing open the doors with a resounding boom, she watched in satisfaction as Regina's eyes bulged at the intrusion before she murmured to the person on her phone that she'd call them back. "What can I do for you, Mrs. Gold?" She asked, needling just a bit in retaliation for the interruption.

"You can help with the Mrs. Gold part," Belle shot back, "Rumpel's gone. I banished him with his own dagger. He's across the town line with no magic and can't get back in."

"I seem to have noticed this morning being brighter, citizens being more cheerful, even Snow's irritating birds were less bothersome than usual," Regina grinned, sitting back in her chair, "And you don't seem the least bit down about this turn of events."

"I'm not," retorted Belle, "he's lied to me and treated me like garbage for the last time. I'm here to call in a favor."

"Really?" asked Regina, looking interested. "And what favor is it that you think I owe you?"

"Try 28 years locked in a dark, dank cell of a mental institution, being used as a pawn in a power struggle. Ring any bells?" Belle asked, fists on her hips.

Tilting her chin upward, Regina conceded the point. "One of the things I regret most about this curse," she admitted, folding her hands and leaning forward onto her desk. "So what is this favor?"

"Divorce me," ordered Belle.

That brought a chuckle out of the Mayor. "My dear, I wasn't aware we were married."

"You know what I mean!" Belle exploded, pacing around the room. "I'm done with Rumpel and his lies. He loves power more than me, always has. Well now he has neither. Our marriage was never legal in the sense of this realm, but as Queen and Mayor, you can force the paperwork through to dissolve the union validly for both realms. This is my favor. Sever my ties to the Dark One and we're even."

Regina studied her intently for the briefest of moments before seeing the sense in the request. "Agreed. I'll have the papers to the library tomorrow morning." She made a note on the pad she kept near her phone for just such occasions."

"Thank you, Regina," Belle breathed, her bravado evaporating with relief.

Demurring, the Mayor waved her off. "Glad to help. Anything that even has a chance to rankle that old man is something I'm glad to do. What are you going to do now that you're a free woman?"

Belle turned thoughtful, truly not having considered her courses of action. "I really hadn't thought much beyond the divorce, honestly. I need to mourn the relationship at least a little. He was my first love, and for a while I even felt he was my true love. We were together for years even before the Dark Curse, and then a couple years afterward. I need to process that before I make any big changes. After that, I think I want to live for myself for once. I spent my childhood being told what to do by my father, who tried to marry me off against my will, then sold me for peace. Then I spent my adulthood being imprisoned by the Dark One before falling in love with him. Stockholm Syndrome they call it in this world. I think I need some time to just figure out who Belle French is. Start with a clean slate."

Regina nodded, impressed at the librarian's analysis of her situation. "I agree, for what it's worth. I've always felt you were much stronger than either your father or the Dark One."

Turning to leave, Belle gave Regina one more look. "Regina, I've always hated the years I spent in the cell here, and I don't know if I'll ever really get over that, but I wanted to thank you."

Jaw dropping, the older woman looked at Belle like she'd grown a second head. "THANK me? What in God's name for?"

"Without the Dark Curse, I'd have been stuck in that castle, bonded to the Dark One forever as another of his toys that he played with when it suited him. Sending us to this realm was a huge help for me. It brought me out from under both Rumpel and my father's control, in this world where women have far more rights than they did back in the Enchanted Forest. I can be who I want here, do what I want, and think what I want. Having indoor plumbing, central heating, and the Internet is pretty nice too," the Librarian grinned. "So thank you. I hope someday I can work through my feelings about the first 30 years here and we can become friends."

"I'd like that too," Regina admitted with a quiet smile.

Nodding, Belle left the office without another word, closing the door behind her with much less force than she had upon her entrance.

* * *

Emma's story was slightly different.

Not long after their return from Neverland Emma had shown up at his ship with a pizza in one hand and a six-pack in the other, intending on introducing him to some of the delights of this particular realm. "Hook? Hook?" she called, wondering what was going on when she didn't hear a reply. She made it as far as the door outside his chambers when the sound of grunts, moans, and squeaking springs gave her all the answers she needed. It was the same old story. "Sorry, Emma, but you're just not enough."

Just a few months later, her parents were accusing her of being a monster and knocking a light post onto her father on purpose when Ingrid riled up her insecurities, thus proving them true.

Her loved ones feared her.

From there things had gone from bad to worse. Regina stopped speaking to her after she'd accidentally brought Marian back from the past and unwittingly reunited Regina's fairy-dust foretold (thanks, Tink! Emma growled to herself) True Love with his formerly deceased wife. The thing made her head hurt when she tried to puzzle it out.

What made it all worst was when she tried to apologize. She really did. Time after time she tried to corner Regina and say she was sorry for hurting her. She didn't know what would happen, but she was the damned _Savior_ , it was in her job description to save people that needed saving.

None of it mattered.

Regina went from what seemed to be a contest with herself to see how hard she could slam the door in Emma's face to using magic to teleport her to interesting places all over Storybrooke. More than once Emma had found herself swimming back to shore, in a compromising position at Granny's, or inside her own jail cells.

Still she kept coming. Somehow, some way she was going to make things right with Regina, even if she couldn't make her True Love return her feelings.

None of it got her anywhere. With the Arendellean royals returned home and the Dark One banished, life in Storybrooke should have calmed down.

Should have.

Instead of falling into a humdrum small-town America existence with her long-lost family and where Emma made amends with Regina for what happened in her past, Emma had found herself more and more isolated.

Her parents were spending most of their time with her baby brother. She knew in her mind that babies needed lots of care and attention, but her heart hurt at every missed glance, every half-answer, and every unanswered phone call. She was more like a sister to her parents than her daughter.

That said nothing of her son, either. Having decided that his brunette mother needed far more support and love than his blonde mother did, Henry had moved back to the Mansion full-time. Having moved out of the loft into her own place when her brother's sleepless nights showed no sign of abating, Emma was well and truly alone.

Which was a damned good enough reason for her feet to find their way to The Rabbit Hole one evening.

Pushing open the door, she gazed around the crowded interior before finding a familiar face seated alone at the bar. Needing some company, any kind of company, Emma made her way to the empty spot next to the woman who was pounding shot after shot, sensing a kindred spirit.

"This seat taken?" She asked Belle.

"Doesn't look like anyone's ass is there, Sheriff," the brunette snarked back.

Eyebrows shooting almost into her hair, Emma slid onto the stool. "What's got you drinking so hard today?"

Belle snorted. "How much time ya got?" she muttered in an uncharacteristic display of bluntness from the usually soft-spoken, gentle librarian.

"I got all the time in the world," Emma shot back, sensing the mood of the evening.

"Well, let's see: my best friend was outside the Enchanted Forest when your parents cast the second Curse that brought us back here, so she's still somewhere in another realm. I just banished my ex-husband across the town line because I got tired of his years and years of lying to me. I have no close friends here in Storybrooke, and my own father still resents me for choosing to live with the Dark One in the first place, so I'm living in the apartments above the library all on my own," Belle rambled, her speech increasing in speed until she was breathless at the end.

"Well, I'm not Ruby, but if you're okay with it I could be some company tonight? I've been told I have a sympathetic ear," offered Emma. Second choice again, she wasn't Belle's preferred companion that evening, but after being ignored by her entire family so soon after finding them, she was just happy to be something to someone, whether it was their first choice or not.

"You might as well, Sheriff. Talking to someone other than stacks of books would be nice for a change."

"If it helps, my son chose to live with his adoptive mother because she was so depressed after I accidentally brought back her True Love's first wife from the past. She's refusing to speak to me, and my parents, when they aren't accusing me of dropping major structures on top of them and protecting babies from my very presence, are focusing all their attention on their perfect second child, the one they named after Henry's dead father and the one they didn't shove through a portal to save themselves, ignoring me at every turn," Emma rushed, matching Belle word for word, feeling the lessening of her pain the more she spoke.

Regarding the blonde with a surprisingly thoughtful expression given the amount of liquor she'd slugged back in just the time Emma had been there, Belle signaled for two more shots without breaking their gaze. "Sounds like I just found myself a drinking buddy."

"I'll toast to that," Emma answered, picking up the glass of amber liquid, gesturing to her new companion, and slugging back the… "Yech. What the hell is this stuff?"

"Spiced rum," explained Belle, trailing off as she realized that Emma might not find the drink to her tastes for any number of reasons.

Shaking her head, Emma gestured for the bartender. "Two shots of my favorite, please."

Belle watched as a different amber liquid seemed to materialize in front of them. "What is this?"

Emma grinned. "When you live in Boston for as long as I did, you learn to appreciate good whiskey. This is my favorite Irish whiskey in this world."

Belle stared at the small glass suspiciously before shrugging and picking it up. Emma met her gaze, fighting down the shiver that went up and down her spine at the intensity of the other woman's blue eyes and raised her own glass. "Sláinte!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means 'to your good health,' or something like that, shrugged Emma. "Now let's drink!"

Clinking glasses, they each threw back their drink. Belle coughed as the drink made its way down her throat. "Oh that burns!"

"Just give it a second," Emma grinned, waiting. She could see as the initial heat faded based on Belle's face relaxing.

Swallowing a few times, the brunette finally got the full taste notes of the drink. "That's much better than I thought it would be!"

One drink turned into two, and two into three. Before long they were giggling and telling each other stories of humiliations past, letting the whiskey and confessions burn away their loneliness in the company of a kindred spirit. The crowd ebbed and flowed around them until it was deep into the night and they were among the only patrons left.

"I'm sorry that Rumpel didn't love you more than his power," Emma slurred in a quiet moment between memories, "You d-deserve all that and more. He was an idi – itidi – moron for not seeing it." She emphasized her point by tucking a strand of auburn silk behind Belle's ears and caressing her cheek. The librarian's skin felt like silk over the world's softest pillow, and Emma had to shake off the errant thought that there were plenty of other places on the other woman that she wanted to check to see if they felt just as wonderful to the touch.

"Thanks, Emma. It means a lot to hear someone say that," Belle admitted quietly.

"You're more than just Rumpelsi…Rumpele…The Dark One's girl or your father's daughter," Emma insisted through her whiskey-fueled haze, needing Belle to understand how sincere she was, "You're a wonderful, intelligent, strong woman who has done more for this town than most of its other residents. I haven't spent as much time getting to know you as I wish I could have now."

For her part, Belle hoped both that the shiver she felt at Emma's contact and the flush that she knew was taking over her face could be attributed to the drink more so than her proximity to the blonde. She'd always been impressed with Emma when they were attempting to head off the Crisis of the Week in Storybrooke. The younger woman had a strength about her that was more than just her almost-otherworldly physique (not that she had spent too much time checking her out, it was more an appreciation of another person's…person, she told herself, hoping she believed it) or the presence of her innate magic. It was something about her personality, tempered like steel in the fires of a brutal childhood, growing up without warmth, care, or love. Emma knew what she wanted and went after it. It was a characteristic that a meek librarian who made the mistake of falling for her captor the Dark One could admire.

"Well if it heps – helps YOU any," Belle responded with her own stutter, waving her hand in a gesture that probably meant some form of emphasis, "I think Hook was a moron himself. Tink has nothing on you. Nothing on your looks – serioushly you have to tell me how you manage to get those jeans on every morning without buckets of baby oil," the image of Emma's legs covered in baby oil as she pulled the jeans on almost short-circuited her brain – she was NOT imagining the panties that adorned the top of her legs – and she had to shake her head to get back on track, "not to mention how quickly you've adapted to living in this crazy town. What your parents did was unconscho…unconsho…bad, but they didn't know what they were doing. I'd be just as upset as you are, trust me."

During her own attempt at offering comfort, Belle's hand found its way to Emma's. She squeezed the other woman's strong fingers, trying to convey with the gesture what she was unable to express verbally at that moment.

Unsatisfied with the touch, Emma put her newest round down and reached out, embracing the other woman. When she pulled back, Emma saw the same intensity in the other woman's eyes that had been sending tremors down her spine and raising goosebumps on her arms the entire evening.

Unwilling to act on the feelings coursing through her for fear that they were fueled by whiskey instead of true emotion – not to mention the fact that she didn't know whether or not Belle was feeling the same things, Emma backed down. "Wow, I didn't realize how late it was getting. Thank you for being a sympathetic ear," she said, hating how weak her voice sounded and sure that Belle would see her retreat for what it was.

"Two in the morning? You're right, it's incredibly late. We should do it again sometime, though," the librarian answered.

"Really?" answered the blonde, hoping the eagerness she felt didn't make her seem like she was coming on too strong. It had been so long since she had someone she could count as a friend.

"Really. What shift do you work tomorrow?" asked Belle, throwing a few bills from her purse onto the bar.

One of these days Emma was going to have to figure out exactly how US currency made its way into Storybrooke. "I have the late shift. David wanted to be home more nights to help with N- my brother."

Sensing the pain behind Emma's barely-avoided use of her sibling's name, Belle gave her a reassuring smile. "I understand. What would you say to meeting at Granny's for lunch the day after?"

"I can do that, Emma responded with a shy smile.

"Great! See you at noon, then?"

"It's a date!" answered Emma, sliding back into her jacket. "Are you okay to walk home?"

Belle's giggle sounded throughout the much-quieter bar. "What if I'm not? Is the Sheriff's department going to arrest me?"

"I may just have to walk you home to the library," Emma said in false seriousness. "Just to be sure that you get home safely. You never know what's going to be going on in Storybrooke."

"That is true," Belle pretended to consider the idea. "Okay, fine. I'll let you escort me home."

With a shared smile, Emma offered her elbow to the brunette, who happily took it. They walked out of The Rabbit Hole much happier than when they came in, secure in the knowledge that they'd found a kindred spirit. The excitement of a new friendship was enough to banish the demons for that evening.

* * *

 **A/N: So yeah, this was a leap for me. What did you think? I have more chapters mapped out in my head, but this can stand on its own as a one-shot. What say you? Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow. Seriously wow. The response to the first chapter was beyond anything I was expecting! This isn't exactly a huge ship to be on, so I wasn't really thinking this would get anything close to the reception it did, but you guys were phenomenal!  
**

 **This story isn't planned out already like some of my others; I'm basically winging it, so there won't be anything like the regular updates, but I won't let this one die. I'm too intrigued at the possibilities of this pairing.**

 **No beta fixed my scribbles, so any mistakes you see are solely mine. I claim no ownership of anything you might recognize, and I didn't intend for this to resemble anyone, anything, or anywhere you might have seen :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The bell above the door to Granny's diner tinkled as Emma shoved the door inside, leaning on it for a bit of temporary support. Another night of next to no sleep, not helped by Regina's obsessive attention to detail. Rather than punish her by withholding time with Henry – who had taken to living at the mansion again after Robin left with Marian, saying he needed to keep his mom company – or some other petty revenge, Regina had taken to going back through years of Sheriff's department paperwork and forcing Emma to fix every single mistake she found.

It was absurd. It was degrading.

It was taking forever.

The last time she got a full night's sleep was….Emma gave up trying to figure that one out when she counted past a week. When she did get to sleep, she never slept well these days.

When she stumbled and almost face-planted into the booth, Belle rushed to her aid from the other side. She had to catch herself with her hands, but the impact was still painful. "Sorry," Emma apologized as she slid into the booth with a groan.

"You look awful, Sheriff!" exclaimed the brunette.

Emma shot her a glare, but it was as weak as she felt. "Thanks, I was hoping to hear that from someone other than myself today."

Belle had the good grace to wince. "Sorry. I just meant that I was worried about you. It doesn't look like you've slept for weeks."

"I haven't, really. Regina's still pissed over the whole Robin/Marian thing, so rather than avoiding me, which she can't really do because of H…" Emma paused as a yawn threatened to split her face in two, then looked up at the waitress's approach with something akin to pure joy, "Sorry, excuse me. I need coffee. As strong as you have it. Grilled cheese and fries, too, please."

"And I'd like my usual grilled chicken sandwich with a side salad, please," Belle requested.

When the waitress nodded and left with Emma's order, having already taken Belle's, the blonde continued. "Damn I miss Ruby. Anyway, Regina can't really ignore me because of Henry, so after everything with the Snow Queen wound down, Regina's taken great delight in punishing me by forcing me to fix years and years of mistakes on Sheriff's Department paperwork. Every single tiny misspelling, punctuation mistake, and typo has to be corrected. I've been working until midnight every night and then getting up for the morning shift."

Concern in Belle's eyes rapidly gave way to confusion. "But you're an intelligent woman. Are most of the mistakes David's?"

Emma wanted to laugh it off, let David take the blame for her own errors, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to the woman in front of her. "Ah, no. They were mine. Honest mistakes, but Regina never cared enough before other than to point them out when she wanted me knocked down a few pegs."

She didn't think Belle would be the type to mock her, but she'd been wrong before. She wasn't this time. A soft, warm hand covered her own on the table. "I'm sorry that you've had to go through that, Emma, and more so that Regina's punishing you for it now."

"It's fine," Emma waved her concern off. "I'm not exactly new to this kind of thing. Always the problem kid. It's cool. How's your morning going?"

Concern flashed across Belle's face, but she blinked it away. "Well, I'm excited to get to the library today. I've been spending the past few weeks gathering the histories of the Enchanted Forest together for our section, but I need to work a little more on the texts from this world."

Emma grinned, glad for the change of subject. "That sounds like a really big job."

"It is, but it's something that needs to get done, and I love working with books and knowledge," answered Belle, getting a slightly dreamy quality to her voice.

"At least that's one thing Disney got right," Emma chuckled.

"I'm sorry?"

Realizing that Belle might not have had the opportunity to get caught up on twentieth century popular culture, Emma had a shot of warmth go through her at the thought that she might be able to teach the other woman something. "Haven't you ever wondered how I knew something about each of the people in this town but never the whole story?"

Belle took a sip of her diet cola. "Now that you mention it…"

"How about you come over to my apartment some evening this week and I'll show you something?" Emma offered, not wanting to specify too many details and seem overeager.

Her worries, like before, were unfounded. "Oh that's right! I heard Snow telling David you'd moved out when Henry went back to the mansion. I'd love to! Are you busy tonight?"

"Tonight would be perfect, if I can get out of Regina's doghouse. I'll call the library to let you know if I'm free tonight or if it'll have to be later this week. Either way I'll have the food ready, so you just need to come over. I'm going to have Mulan take the evening shift anyway. At some point I need to get some sleep, right?" she joked.

Their food arrived at that moment, preventing further conversation. Closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, Belle took in every note of the aroma. As usual, Granny cooked her chicken to perfection, the heat melting the cheese and combining into a mouth-watering sensory experience. When she opened her eyes, she had to stifle a snort. Half of Emma's sandwich was gone before she'd even taken a bite. "Relax, Emma! I promise it's not going anywhere! You can enjoy it, you know?"

She meant the comment to be teasing, but the way the blonde's pale face flushed scarlet, she knew she'd inadvertently offended her friend. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you…I've just never seen anyone eat that quickly."

Emma refused to meet her eyes, swallowing the bite she had in her mouth and taking a drink. "Um, sorry. Old habits, I guess," she muttered to her plate.

"Old habits?" asked Belle, hesitating to push too far but wanting to establish a more meaningful connection with the blonde.

But Emma merely shook her head. "Maybe some other time. Tell me more about this library project."

Belle nodded, filing away both what Emma said and what she didn't say.

* * *

Emma trudged into Town Hall, having spent the entire afternoon working on a stack of supposed paperwork mistakes. Regina was still insisting they all be fixed so the town archives weren't 'riddled with your abysmal spelling, grammar, and incomplete thoughts, Miss Swan'. It was drudgery, but without a lot of crime to actually police, there wasn't anything else she could use to get Regina off her back.

Regina's secretary attempted to waylay her outside the office door, but Emma just waved her off with a yawn. "I'm just going to drop this off with Her Royal Bitchiness and be on my merry way. Whomever is in there with her can wait a few minutes."

Against the flurry of limbs, Emma eased the door open, not wanting to cause too much of a disruption for the person meeting with Regina. She heard the voices in the quiet office, but it was one voice in particular that made her stop dead in her tracks.

…" _It's beneath you, Regina. Even the Evil Queen wasn't this petty. You're humiliating her for no reason!"_

" _I've got my reasons, Mrs. Gold, and they're none of your business. Suffice it to say that Miss Swan is an idiot and idiots need instruction."_

" _First of all, it's Ms. French again. I just dropped off the divorce paperwork with the office downstairs. Second of all, whatever happened when Emma came back from the past was months ago! Rubbing her nose in her own mistakes is just cruel. She's not an idiot, she just never had the formal education that you or I did because of YOUR curse!"_

" _I wasn't the one who shoved her through a tree, if you remember your history, Librarian. Her parents were the ones who decided to FedEx her to Maine!"_

" _Regardless, she doesn't need you mocking her education. You could be a lot gentler about this. If you're not careful you'll do real damage to her, not to mention your co-parenting relationship."_

Emma couldn't stay to hear the rest. The two women in Storybrooke she respected more than any other both thought she was a moron. Belle hadn't come right out and said it but the way she told Regina that she needed to be coddled cut her far deeper than she thought it would.

She turned to Regina's secretary and handed her the folder. "Could you see that Her Majesty gets this? I just remembered I have something urgent I have to do." Without waiting for a reply, she marched out of the office, trying to hold onto what remained of her dignity.

* * *

"Open the door Emma Swan!" Belle shouted, pounding on it with her first. "I don't know what you think you meant with that voice mail you left me, but I'm not buying it."

Silence greeted her.

Something had gone horribly wrong between their lunch at Granny's and the time she left her apartment. Putting her phone down to read a book, she hadn't noticed that it was still on silent from her meeting with Regina, requested in haste to try to get the Mayor off Emma's back.

" _Hi, Belle. Listen, I need to cancel our plans for tonight. Something's come up, and…yeah…I just can't tonight. I'm sorry. I'll see you around sometime."_

Whatever had gotten into the blonde's head had spooked her, and Belle was afraid of whatever had that effect. Hearing no sounds from inside the apartment, she resumed pounding on the door. "I'm not going away, I promise you that! Whatever is going on in your head, you can tell me!"

An uneven thumping sounded from inside the apartment. At one point Belle would have sworn she heard someone curse after thumping into a piece of furniture. Another few seconds elapsed before the door jerked open to reveal a very disheveled Emma Swan. "Yeah? Why are you pounding on my door? Didn't I leave you a voice…a voich…a message?"

The waves of alcohol flowing off of her smacked into the librarian with an almost physical force. "What happened to you?"

Rather than the guilt Belle expected to see at the accusation, Emma just rolled her eyes and stumbled back into the apartment. "I guess it was just another bad decision on my part," she growled, the menace in her tone sending shivers up and down Belle's spine, "after all, it's not like I'm smart enough to know any better, right?"

"What are you talking about? I don't think you're unintelligent," Belle protested.

Emma snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Emma! What's going on?" pressed the brunette as she sat down on the sofa, feeling dread growing in her stomach.

Whirling on her – a bit unsteadily due to the alcohol she must have imbibed – Emma marched over. "You really don't know what's going on?"

"I truly have no idea what you're talking about!" Belle glanced around Emma's sparsely furnished living room/dining room/kitchen open floor plan, trying to get an idea of how drunk her friend was. Spying a half-empty bottle of whiskey, her shoulders slumped. It was going to be a lot harder to get through to the blonde when she was also fighting through a cloud of liquor.

Emma snorted. "I was powering through a stack of paperwork to get Regina off my back for today. Imagine my surprise when I went to her office and heard that she had a visitor already."

"You overheard something I said to her? Something that has generated this hostility?" Belle asked in a small voice, trying not to provoke her friend any further and cause any more damage to their nascent friendship.

"I heard you tell Regina that my mistakes weren't my fault because I wasn't as well-educated as either of you two," Emma shot back, masking the deep hurt of the moment with her anger.

Belle's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no. I didn't know you were there."

"Well, I was! Let me tell you it didn't feel great to hear what people really think about how stupid I am," Emma spat, wrapping her arms around her torso.

Understanding and compassion swept through Belle. "Okay. I didn't think about how that would have sounded. I promise there's a reason for what I said, and it wasn't to insult you."

Emma gaped, the glaze in her eyes fading. "How in the w-world was I supposed to take that?"

"I probably didn't express myself very well, but I promise you that I had a reason for it," Belle began, moving closer to Emma and patting the seat next to her on the couch. "Hear me out, please? You know I'm not the kind of person who would say those things about you."

It was hesitant and halting, but eventually Emma perched on the edge of the cushion Belle had indicated, maintaining distance and looking like she was ready to flee at a moment's notice. "Okay," she agreed in a voice so low the brunette had to strain to hear it.

Taking a breath, Belle made sure she had eye contact before she started talking. "Regina, of course was a queen and grew up with Cora as a mother, so she was always going to be given…maybe forced would be a better word…the best of everything. I was a princess myself before I went to live with Rumpel. Nobles, especially royalty, were subjected to a rigorous education growing up. Reading, writing, math, history, politics, we had to know it all. You had to be educated to know how to lead a kingdom."

"Not seeing what this has to do with me other than how much better you and Regina grew up than I did," Emma grumbled, visibly tensing and looking for her escape path.

"You were born a princess, so you would have been raised the same way, with the same curriculum expected of you. From what I've seen you're a very intelligent woman, so I know it wouldn't have been a problem for you. I was actually criticizing Regina, since it was her curse and your parent's decision to send you to this world alone that meant you had to grow up without the advantages of royalty," explained Belle, warming to her words as she saw Emma relaxing the more she listened.

"Oh," breathed Emma, understanding, "I didn't hear that."

Belle reached out and put a hand on Emma's forearm. "I get that, I do. But Emma, this friendship isn't going to work if you always assume the worst of me."

"I know. I'm sorry," the blonde murmured, "it just hit on one of my biggest insecurities."

"You're not stupid," Belle insisted, grabbing Emma's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze, "and I'm sorry that something I said made you feel that way."

"No, it's okay. I get it. I just took it the wrong way," Emma demurred, "I've been known to go off half-cocked before."

"What makes you so sensitive to perceptions about your intelligence?" asked Belle.

This time it was Emma taking a deep breath, marshaling her courage to reveal something about herself. "I, um, well, I'm sure you heard the stories of how I grew up bouncing around to different foster homes as a kid, running away from more than one of them?"

Belle nodded silently, waiting for her to continue.

"Well, I…let's just say I've never completed a full year of school at any one building. I was the problem child who no one ever cared about," explained Emma, shame over her abysmal education keeping her from meeting the brilliant librarian's gaze. She knew what would be coming. The same thing that she saw on the faces of everyone she chose to share that defect of herself. Pity, with an occasional side of mocking derision.

Except it never came.

"That must have been awful for a child to experience," Belle answered, never breaking their touch. "Emma, you have to know that your education isn't not your fault. Whatever they did or didn't do doesn't reflect on you at all. In the little time we've interacted I've been impressed at how clever you are. The way you figure things out before most of the rest of us even know what to ask is amazing to watch."

Punctuated with another squeeze of hands, Emma looked up, meeting the librarian's steady gaze and hoping hers wasn't as watery as it felt. "Thank you," she breathed as the warmth from the feeling of not having lost a friend spread through her body. "I'm really sorry for how I answered the door. It just felt like we were starting to be friends after the other night and then when I heard what I thought I did…"

"Don't worry about it," Belle dismissed, "I would have reacted the same way, both in the office and here."

"And now I've ruined our whole evening!" Emma groaned, falling back onto the couch. "I'm drunk, and I don't have any food, and…"

"Hey, hey, hey," Belle shushed. "It's okay, I promise. Why don't we just order a pizza and watch some TV?"

"Are you serious?"

"Why not? That way I can relax while I catch up to your drinks," grinned Belle, bumping Emma's shoulder.

"Why order one? I may be a bit drunk but I think I can still do this. What are your favorite toppings on a pizza?"

"Pepperoni and mushrooms," Belle answered, furrowing her brow.

So saying, Emma moved into the kitchen, staring at the empty counter. As Belle watched, she shook her arms and wiggled her hands. "Okay, here goes nothing." With a flick of her fingers and a cloud of grey smoke, a steaming pizza appeared on the counter, topped with mushrooms and pepperoni on one half and ham on the other.

"Dinner is served," she grinned at her friend.

* * *

 **A/N: First angst out of the way. Not too bad, right? Let me know what you thought! Constructive criticism and reviews are always appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: It's been forever and a day since I updated this story, but life got in the way big-time. Mrs. Lucky is doing much better now, and we'll find out in early December exactly how much better.  
**

 **I claim no ownership of anything you might recognize.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma growled at the brass band playing against her skull, but the pressure of the effort turned it into a weak whimper. "Never drinking again," she muttered, though even that feeble effort drained her strength. Stretching out her limbs, she felt a bone-deep ache throughout her entire body. Sleeping on the couch as she had the night before combined with the amount of liquor made her feel like she'd gone nine rounds with a Chernabog.

The couch…she started up, immediately regretting the sudden movement as her head swam and pain lanced across her temples like a fiery poker. One thing became clear from her movement, though: she was alone. The last thing she remembered was sitting far too close to Belle for friendship, but writing it off as drunken camaraderie. She didn't remember Belle leaving, and for a minute she thought that in her loneliness she'd pushed too far, craved human contact too much, but when she looked to her left, there was a bucket on the floor next to where her head had been. On the end table above where her head rested were four aspirin tablets and a large glass of water.

Sitting up as gingerly as she could, Emma reached for the aspirin and water. She downed it with a grimace, only then noticing the note under the glass. _Good morning, Emma! I woke up early and had to get back to the shop, but I didn't want you to think you woke up alone, hence this note. Thanks for forgiving me last night. Belle._

A wave of relief crashed swept through her. Instead of the feeling of having chased away the last person in Storybrooke who wanted to speak to her outside of saving the town, Belle had to leave for her normal daily routine – though if she was feeling anything like Emma was after their night of drinking, the librarian possessed hidden reserves of strength that were truly formidable. She re-read the note, chuckling at the perfect grammar and spelling, even in a hastily-scrawled note.

Needing some further reassurances to fight off the memories of having been blown off by people she once called friends swirling just below the surface, she picked up her phone and punched in Belle's number. The brunette answered on the first ring. "Emma?"

"Hey," she rasped out, coughing to clear the nights' excess from her throat, "Sorry about getting drunk last night."

"Did you get the aspirin and water?"

Emma smiled through the throbbing pulsing against the insides of her skull. "I did, thank you. They're already helping."

"I'm really glad. I felt absolutely awful when my phone woke me up this morning," Belle answered, her accent sending a warm little tingle down her spine, "My stomach was rebelling against me as much as my head. I don't think I ever want to drink that much ever again."

"I completely agree," Emma groaned, "If only that was the first time I've spoken those words."

Belle's answering chuckle made the corners of Emma's mouth turn up. "Regardless of our regret today, I enjoyed last night very much. Maybe we could do it again sometime, just without the alcohol?"

"Me too," Emma agreed, grinning at the warmth calming her rebellious stomach, "and I think that would be a great idea. For now I need a shower and some more water to drink. I'll call you later?"

"Oh, that's fine. Someone just came into the library anyway. We'll talk later?"

"Sounds like a plan. Bye, Belle!" Emma agreed, clicking off the call and falling back onto her couch with an ear-to-ear grin.

For the first time since she could remember, someone chose her. Belle had the chance to let things slide, shrug Emma's dismay off after her talk with Regina the previous day, but she didn't. She came to Emma's apartment, argued her way in, and explained away the misunderstanding, soothing Emma's insecurities at the same time.

Someone finally chose her.

In all her life, she'd never been just Emma to anyone. She'd been a best chance, a meal ticket, a pair of legs that could spread, a Savior, and any number of other roles…except just herself. No one had ever chosen to be with her for herself. Until Belle did just that the night before.

Now it was up to her to return the favor. She was at least fifty-four percent sure that's how friendships worked. Her experience with people she'd called friends like Neal and Lily was diametrically opposed to how she'd seen it depicted on television, but Belle wasn't giving her the same vibe.

She wobbled her way over to her desk and started to jot down some notes.

* * *

The library's door swung open to reveal a confused brunette.

"Hi?" Emma asked, rather than greeted, holding up a takeout bag from Granny's and a few DVDs in her hand.

"Were we doing anything tonight?" Belle asked, unsure if she'd made arrangements to get together with the sheriff or not.

Shaking her head, Emma nodded to her burdens. "No, I just thought that we could, you know, hang out. Like friends. I mean, I know we're friends, but still, I probably should have called…"

"Emma, stop!" Belle urged, smiling at her flustered friend. "It's okay, really. I appreciate the thought. I haven't had a dinner and movie night in a long time."

The blonde flushed, still embarrassed at her brash entry, but returned the smile. "I brought a few, since I didn't know what you'd be into."

The brunette's smile widened as she leaned against the door frame. "Well, I haven't had much chance to see many movies. Even after I got out of the asylum under the hospital we were always trying to fight one evil or another. I'm sure whatever you brought will be fine." She backed away, gesturing for Emma to enter.

Moving into the library, Emma followed Belle upstairs. She hadn't spent much time around the librarian until life had calmed down recently, but after the way Belle had fought for her – after literally fighting to get inside her apartment and clear up the misunderstanding the previous evening – she knew the brunette was someone she wanted to get to know better.

From her position behind Belle, Emma watched her hair move and seemingly change color under different lighting. Under the fluorescent lights in the library's lobby where the public had access, Belle's hair was a normal brown. However, as they moved deeper into the library where the lighting was more natural, she started to see flashes of red streaked in between the coffee brown.

Catching herself thinking far too hard over the nature of Belle's hair, Emma shook off the feeling, dropping her eyes away from the bouncing locks. She had to shake her head when her gaze fell on the other woman's swaying backside. "Oh my _God_ ," she muttered in frustration.

"What did you say?" asked Belle over her shoulder.

"Nothing! I just forgot to do something at the station today and it just popped into my head, that's all," she explained, hoping that her voice didn't betray her sheer mortification at essentially being caught checking her friend out.

No such luck. "Okay," Belle answered, drawing out the word into multiple syllables, turning to look at the blonde with a cocked eyebrow.

Emma ducked, trying to hide her quickly coloring face from Belle's scrutiny. "Sorry," she apologized, not exactly knowing why. She was sure now that Belle suspected something, but she didn't want to get into any explanations. "So you haven't gotten to see many movies in your time here?"

"We have been rather busy during most of the time I've been out of the asylum," Belle retorts, looking down in mild embarrassment at the admission.

"Hey," chided Emma, reaching out and taking Belle's hand, stopping their movements. "That wasn't your fault at all. That was Regina being a bitch and using you as an insurance policy against Gold. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you whatsoever."

That brought the other woman up short. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Anyway," continued Emma in an effort to defuse the moment, "I brought along a few of my favorites. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Princess Bride, and…well…Beauty and the Beast." She held her breath, hoping Belle wouldn't take that the wrong way.

"Wait, I've heard something about that. Isn't that…?"

"One version of your story, yes. It's a cartoon movie, but it's one I saw when I was a kid. I thought you might enjoy the way one person told your story," she explained, trying to reassure the other woman.

To her immense relief, Belle smiled. "That sounds like it might be entertaining. It couldn't be much worse than the way whomever wrote Henry's storybook portrayed some of us. It seemed like he put his own personal spin on the stories."

The idea struck something in Emma's mind, burrowing its way to the back of her consciousness, filed away for later use. "Well, we'll start there and see what you think, then," she smiled at the older woman.

Since Storybrooke was light on Chinese cuisine – though Mulan was trying to establish a restaurant – and Emma wanted to introduce her new friend to the delights of pot stickers, sweet and sour chicken, and mushu pork, she moved into the eating area of Belles apartment and concentrated her magic. Waving her hands over the surprisingly modern island feature, she conjured a steaming meal for two consisting of all her favorites from the Chinese restaurant near her apartment in New York.

Belle looked on in surprise, unwittingly licking her lips. "That smells delicious!" she exclaimed with a deep inhalation.

"Don't say anything until you try it," grinned the blonde.

* * *

Tears coursed their way down Belle's face as a clock and candelabra danced and sang their way through an elaborate routine. "What I wouldn't have given to see Rumple enchanting some of the furniture around his old castle to serenade me."

Belle's obvious mirth had Emma laughing along with her. "You mean he never did anything like this?"

"Believe me, it was as much a surprise to him as it was to me when we started developing feelings for each other," the librarian murmured.

Surprised at her words, Emma turned to look at her friend. "That's not really how I thought it would have happened."

"What can I say? It must have been the only way I could have gotten affection," Belle retorted, getting to her feet, offense obvious in her jerky motions.

Emma grabbed her arm. "Hey. That's not what I meant at all. I'm not really that good with words, so you need to cut me some slack. You're an amazing, strong, intelligent woman. If anything, I thought it would have been you taking pity on an almost unlovable person, but you were able to find something in him to love. There's nothing wrong with you at all, Belle."

The librarian bit back a sniff, looking at her with suspiciously glimmering eyes. "And you say you're not good with words."

"Maybe you bring it out of me," Emma grinned, "librarian and all."

Belle's entire persona softened, and the smile she rewarded Emma with sent a wave of relief through her. As her friend was sitting back down, Emma curled her leg underneath her body so she could turn to face Belle directly. "I have an idea that I think will save us each a lot of trouble."

"Oh? What's that?" wondered Belle.

Emma gave a warm smile. "We're both intending to stay friends, right?"

"I know I am."

"Then how about we understand that we each have a lot of insecurities and self-doubts, and agree here and now that nothing we do or say is with the intent to hurt the other?"

Belle cocked her head to one side, pretending to give the matter consideration before a smile lit up her entire face. "I think that's a wonderful idea. It's a relief that I will have at least one person to call a friend in this town. To most people I'm just Rumple's girl."

"Well screw them," Emma retorted, "You don't need to worry what anyone else thinks. I don't have anyone I would call a friend here, either. The one person who would have been is now,"

"Your mother," Belle interrupted, understanding dawning.

"My mot…Mary Margaret," Emma agreed, stumbling over the familial term.

Belle gave her a small smile and an understanding squeeze of her forearm. "They still don't feel like your parents, do they?"

"It's more than that, but yeah that, mostly," acknowledged the blonde, "I just don't know how to handle parents. There's only one way I've ever known how to live, and that's on my own. Even know, after years here in Storybrooke with them, and Henry, I'm alone. He's back with Regina and my parents have their little replacement."

Expecting pity, or empty phrases that meant nothing like so many other times in her life when they learned of her unfortunate circumstances, Emma was surprised at Belle's reaction. With another reassuring squeeze of her forearm, she drew her into a warm embrace. "I can't imagine how that must feel for you."

Emma furrowed her brow. "Actually, you sort of can, right? I read your story in Henry's book. About the deal your dad made with the Dark One and then when he couldn't stop loving power enough. You've had really similar experiences."

"I guess that's true," the librarian nodded.

"I think it just means that we're going to be best friends," Emma gave a grin that reached her heart as much as her eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: Something about these two at this point in the timeline just clicks for me. Thoughts?**


End file.
